All Cats Go To Heaven
by CanzetYote
Summary: When Sasha's dad hits and kills Marvin in a drunk driving accident, Tiger begins a slow spiral into a nervous breakdown. Can Zach help his estranged brother from going off the deep end?
1. Tragic News

Sasha's ears perked up to the jingling of keys and she sprung awake from her nap. She looked towards the front door to see her father, buzzed in a drunken stupor trying to jam his car keys in an invisible slot in the door. Frowning, she got up and walked up to him, "Dad, do you need help?"

"I...I'm fine. Just need to drive to the liquor store to get some more beer." Sasha's dad slurred, stumbling around drunkenly and he dropped his keys and fumbled around for them, "Help me."

With a sigh, Sasha got up and handed her father the keys and opened the door for him, "There you go."

"Thanks." Her father slurred, slowly stumbling out of the door and into the hot summer night. Sasha watched as he made his way towards his car and got in, slamming the car door behind him. It took about seven or eight tries for him to finally fit his keys in the ignition and start the engine. As he exited the driveway, Sasha slowly waved him goodbye before closing the front door.

It was then that he took off into the night. As he drove down the road, he accelerated his car to about 80 miles per hour. His entire field of vision went black and a loud thump and a scream was heard. The scream woke him up from his alcohol induced stupor and he stepped out of his vehicle to see what he had hit. His vision was blurry and all he could make out was a lump of orange fur that was slowly breathing.

"Put the dang thing out of its misery." He slurred to himself, stumbling over to the trunk of the car and pulling out a tire iron. Raising the iron, he gave the orange lump a few good whacks and it stopped moving. Dropping the tire iron, Sasha's dad passed out in the grass.

About ten minutes later, the sound of police sirens and flashing red and blue lights disturbed the serene silence of the night as Tiger Arbelt was trying his best to fall asleep in his bed. Slowly getting up, Tiger groggily walked over to his window and stared out at the street, wincing at the flashing police lights, "What the howl is going on? What are people doing out so late?"

"Need I remind you that Marvin was out late at a Pridelands themed party for cats." Zach's voice called out from behind Tiger.

"Oh." Tiger shrugged, "So that explains what all the noise is about. Maybe some cat brought catnip to the party and got busted by the police."

"Or maybe someone got in an accident of some sort." Zach suggested.

Tiger snickered a little at Zach's reply, "Accident? Don't be silly, our neighborhood is as safe as a child's playpen. It's probably nothing. Let's just go back to bed and put it all behind us, all right?"

Zach sighed and hung his head, he didn't want to start an argument with Tiger so he just quietly agreed and made his way towards his room when there was a knock at the door. Jerry opened the door to see Officer Lindberg with a sullen look on his face, "Bill? Is something wrong?"

Zach slowly made his way down the stairs of the house and waited in the stairwell, listening in to the conversation.

Bill took a deep sigh. He didn't want to break the news to Jerry but he knew that he had to, "Jerry, I'm truly sorry for your loss." The officer then produced Marvin's bloodstained collar which was sealed in an evidence bag, "Your cat has been run over by a car."

Jerry looked absolutely floored by the news and Zach let out a gasp of shock, "No..."

"He was pronounced dead at the scene." Officer Lindberg explained, "He also appeared to have been beaten by a tire iron. Apparently, whoever hit him was trying to put him out of his misery."

Zach felt salty tears sting the edges of his yellow green eyes and start rolling down his muzzle as he watched Jerry break down and take the evidence bag containing Marvin's collar into his hands. Rubbing his eyes as he choked back a sob, Zach frantically scrambled up the stairs and made a mad dash to Tiger's room. He didn't care that his canine brother could potentially lash out at him for disturbing his slumber, he didn't want to wait til morning to break the news to him.

Entering Tiger's room, Zach violently shook the dog awake, "Wake up, Tiger! Wake up!"

"What is it now, Zach?" Tiger grumbled in irritation, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his paws.

"Marvin is dead!" Zach wailed frantically, tears falling like rain from his soft white face.

"WHAT?!"


	2. The Funeral

News of Marvin's unexpected death sent shockwaves through the community of Babylon Gardens. Several pets and humans alike gathered in the church, the very same church where King and Bailey got married in holy matrimony was now a place for mourning as a dark cloud seemed to hover over the neighborhood. A sharp-dressed Keene Milton stood in front of a casket containing the broken and lifeless body of Marvin Arbelt. Most of the cats were crying and so were a few dogs, including Peanut and Joey who sometimes used to have conversations with Marvin while in his cat costume. Maxwell allowed himself to cry on Grape's shoulder, tears streaming down his nose into her purple fur as she held him close and struggled to hold back her own tears.

Bino sat next to his two brothers. He looked over to Joey who was sobbing quietly into his paws and glared at him in disgust, "I can't believe you're wasting those tears on a mangy cat."

Joey just ignored Bino and began sobbing even harder. Bino then heard a low growl and turned to face Fido who was glaring at him, "Would it kill you to pay your respects? Marvin was a friend of his."

"So what? He's a cat. I think it's ridiculous for a dog to cry over a cat." Bino replied, casually laying back while crossing his legs.

"You're a monster." Fido grumbled, "Sometimes I wonder how I'm even related to you."

"Your brother has a point, though." Spo spoke up, "With Marvin gone, that's one less cat to eat me."

"Really, Spo?" Fido replied, rolling his eyes at the mouse atop his head.

"What?" The smart aleck mouse shrugged above the police dog's head, "I'm just sayin-" But Fido was quick to hush Spo.

Tiger was the only one in the entire church who wasn't dressed in black clothing. He stood out like a sore thumb with Marvin's old purple scarf draped around his neck like a tragic keepsake in spite of the summer heat as he held Poom in his paws and while everyone was talking and whispering, he was completely silent. Zach sat right next to Tiger, a paw placed on his shoulder and a concerned look on his tear-streaked face. The rabbit then took Tiger's paw into his own and squeezed it, "We'll get through this together, I promise."

Keene cleared his throat and held up a paw to silence the church. Everyone stopped talking and only the sound of sniffles penetrated the solemn atmosphere. The ferret stood up to the micophone at the podium and spoke, "Ladies and gentleman, we are all gathered here to mourn to passing of Marvin Arbelt. He will be dearly missed among members of both the cat and dog communities alike. We're here to share our memories of him and talk about how he changed our lives. From what I can gather, Marvin was a quiet and gentle cat who usually kept to himself. He really enjoyed reading and cared deeply for his brothers, Tiger and Zachary Arbelt. Tiger and Zach, if you are out there in the audience, I am truly sorry for the loss you have experienced. I can't imagine what you're going through right now but try your best to stay strong and remember all the good times you've had with Marvin. Now, if you'll excuse me, Maxwell and Joey have prepared a speech for us all. Thank you."

Wiping away their tears, Maxwell and Joey stood up and walked over to the podium. Maxwell turned to Joey, "You can go first, I still need some time."

"If you say so." Joey sighed, wiping a stray tear from his nose with the back of his paw as he approached the microphone. The young pup cleared his throat a bit and began speaking, "Many of you know me as the weird dog who dresses up in cat costumes all the time and dates a mouse. Often times, I'd go and hang out with the cats of the neighborhood. Although he wasn't part of my usual circle of friends, Marvin and I got along really well and sometimes, we'd talk about Pridelands together. Also, I was one of the only dogs who never made fun of Tiger. The last thing I want to be labelled as is a hypocrite. Tiger, I must say that you're blessed to have such a caring brother whose there to love you and care for you. Sometimes, I really wish I could say the same for Bino. If there's anything you need, anything at all, keep in mind that Zach and I are here for you. And so are Peanut and Grape." A small tear slowly escaped Joey's eye and trailed down his furry cheek, "Maybe the force be with you."

Joey sadly shuffled away from the podium and Maxwell took the stand, "Marvin was one of my best cat friends here in Babylon Gardens. I..." The black cat paused, his turquoise eyes flooded with tears, "I'll miss him very much...he...he'd always be there to b-bring me down to Earth when I...I had too much catnip and..." Maxwell paused to sniffle a bit, "...things just won't be the same without him around." Sobbing a bit, Max turned his head away, "I'm so sorry, I just...I can't do this. I'm just no good at these types of goodbyes..."

There was another long silence throughout the chapel before Tiger spoke up in a weak, hoarse voice, "Poom was a present to me from Marvin..."

Zach looked over to his canine brother and noticed the look of complete and absolute despair on his face. Squeezing his eyes shut, Tiger felt a hot tear roll down his snout. Zach sadly watched as the tear dripped off the tip of Tiger's nose and landed directly into Poom's eye, giving the illusion that Poom was also mourning Marvin's passing. A single sob shook Tiger's frame and Zach cautiously placed his arm around his estranged brother, feeling his own eyes fill up with a new batch of tears.

"When I was a puppy...I...I had no friends." Tiger sniffed, slowly caressing his beloved teddy bear in his paws, "All the other dogs l-laughed at me b-b-because of my n-name..."

"Tiger..." Zach sighed, beginning to rub the tearful dog's back.

"But...but then Marvin came along a-a-a-and...he saw...how l-lonely I was..." Tiger let out a pained whimper, his tears now rolling from his eyes in a steady flow, "One day...first Christmas I h-had with him...he g-gave me Poom...s-so I wouldn't b-b-be so lonely when he was away with his cat f-friends...and so...I treaured him...like like how I treasure M-marvin..."

Tiger couldn't let out another word as he broke down into a fit of uncontrollable sobs, nuzzling his beloved teddy bear and staining its fabric with his salty tears. At this point, Zach didn't care how scared he was of Tiger. He wrapped his arms around his crying brother and pulled him into the tightest side-hug his little bunny body could muster as tears streamed from his own eyes like rivers. Accepting the embrace, Tiger cried openly on Zach's shoulder as the whole church payed attention to the two of them. Bino cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak but was immediately hushed by Fido pressing his finger to his muzzle, "Not a word."

It was then that Jerry got up from his seat and approached the podium. The church was once again silent besides Tiger's hysterical bawling. He looked over towards his two alive pets who were both hugging each other and crying their eyes out and breathed a deep sigh, "Now I'm no good at giving speeches but what's there to say about Marvin? He was my first pet. He was always a really nice cat and it didn't matter what sort of species another pet was, he could find a friend in almost anything. Cats, dogs, rabbits, he was even friends with a lizard for a short time before we moved to Babylon Gardens. Marvin was always a low-matinence cat and he never discriminated against anyone, never had a mean word to say and was always ready to help out when needed. He was always reserved and quiet yet greeted most pets with a smile. Even if he is no longer with us, he'll still live on in our hearts." He sighed and slowly shook his head as memories of Marvin as a kitten flooded his mind, "That's all I can say, really."

Fox turned to King, "Do you suppose Marvin's in heaven now?"

King nodded, "I think so. He's probably talking to Cerberus right now as we speak."

Peanut dragged his paw across his tear-filled eyes and sniffled a bit. Tarot stared at him and blinked in confusion, "You're crying and you barely know him?"

"Yeah." Peanut nodded, "But I always cry at funerals. I can't help it if I'm sensitive."

Tarot just smiled at Peanut, "You're lucky I'm attracted to guys who aren't afraid to show their feelings."

"Now's not the time, Tarot." Peanut sighed as he hung his head, "I've never seen Tiger this sad before. I mean, first everyone laughs at his name and now his best friend in the whole world dies. Poor guy." The psychic pomeranian frowned and gently rubbed her emotional boyfriend's back with her paw.

"As tacky as it may sound, I'm sure all of you are exhausted and dehydrated from shedding so many tears." Keene announced into the microphone, "I bet you're all also very hungry as well. Before we lay Marvin to rest, we shall honor him with a feast."

Tiger abruptly stopped crying and his ears perked up, "Feast?"

"Tiger..." Zach sighed, "Is now really a good time to think about food?"

"You're right." Tiger whimpered softly, "I can't believe I'm being so selfish. Will salad be provided in addition to pizza? My bunny brother over here looks like he's starving!"

"TIGER!" Zach shouted, crossing his arms in irritation.

"All this crying really does work up an appetite, though." Tiger sniffled, dragging his paw across his nose, "Keene had a point. And besides, it's what Marvin would have wanted, right?"

"Oh, if you say so." Zach grumbled, "We all need to take a break from this."

And so, everyone got up and exited the chapel, walking into the courtyard where they were presented with a large banquet. Zach could only rub his chin in thought, "You know, I always remember Marvin telling me that he wished to have a super low key funeral if he ever passed, not some fancy production. I honestly wasn't expecting something so big."

Keene placed a paw on Zach's shoulder, "It seems that Marvin was loved by more people than he realized, then. I'd say we did a pretty good job preparing a feast, don't you think?"

"I guess so." Zach sighed as he hung his head, "Seems just a little disrespectful to Marvin's wishes, though."

Tiger turned to Zach, "Come on, Zach. Marvin always likes making others happy and what better way to cheer me up than with a big old buffet? Let's dig in!"

Fat Daryl just smiled at Tiger, "Now you're speaking my language!"

Fox walked over to Sasha who still had tears running down her muzzle. He placed his paw on her shoulder, "Sasha, is everything okay?"

"Oh Fox, I think its all my fault that Melvin is dead." Sasha sniffled as she buried her face in her paws.

"What makes you say that?" Fox asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was the one who helped my owner out the door. If...if he didn't get into his c-car and drive...then maybe...maybe Melvin would still be alive and Lion wouldn't feel so sad!" Sasha said through her sobs as Fox pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Come on Sasha, it's not your fault." Fox soothed, "Accidents happen. Besides, your owner shouldn't have been drinking in the first place. Also, their names are Tiger and Marvin, not Lion and Melvin."

"I just miss poor Martin so much!" Sasha blubbered as Fox rubbed her back.

Peanut slowly walked up to Tiger and tapped him on the shoulder. Tiger spun around to face Peanut, "What?"

Without a word, Peanut wrapped his arms around Tiger and pulled him into a close hug. Tiger blinked a few times, completely and utterly confused when Peanut suddenly spoke up, "I'm so sorry for making fun of your name when we first met. That was really wrong of me. I want you to know that I never meant to hurt your feelings, I was really just going along with the crowd. If there's anything I can do for you to help. Anything, you name it..."

"Well..." Tiger began, deep in thought when Bino suddenly approached the two with a demented grin on his face, "What's this all about? Suddenly, kitty-boy's kitty friend dies and he's now the biggest charity case in all of Babylon Gardens."

Tiger narrowed his eyes and growled angrily at Bino but Peanut just hugged Tiger tighter, "Don't listen to him, he's just trying to get a rise out of you."

Bino just chuckled in response, "I can't believe that you cried like a lost widdle kitty cat over that pathetic orange waste of space you even call a "brother". If anything, you should be HAPPY that he's dead because its one less mouth for your owner to feed, ya walking sack of lard. Oh, boo hoo hoo, my name is Tiger and I'm sad because my yarnball-chasing brother got hit by a drunk person. Waaaaaah. Sniffle. I lost my only friend, I'm nothing but a loser because no one cares about me."

Tiger was now seeing red. With a burst of near superhuman strength, he broke free from Peanut's grip and pounced on Bino. Hot, angry tears were streaming down his face as he wrapped his paws around Bino's throat and started choking him, "YOU ARE DEAD! DO YOU HEAR ME, BEANO? I WILL MURDER YOU RIGHT HERE AND NOW! I WILL CRUSH THAT PENCIL NECK OF YOURS UNTIL YOUR HEART STOPS BEATING!"

Immediately, Rex grabbed a hold on Tiger and pulled him off of Bino, restraining him as the dog screamed and sobbed furiously in the bulldog's arms. Catching his breath, Bino just glared at his screaming, crying assailant in anger, "You're a FREAK, Tiger. You're a freak and no one will EVER love you. I'm GLAD your brother is dead because you DESERVE to suffer!"

It was then that Bino felt a large paw on his shoulder. He looked up and saw his big brother, Fido glaring down at him, "We need to talk, in private."

"Fine." Bino grumbled, rubbing his sore neck from Tiger's strangulation attempt.

Bino and Fido walked over to an unoccupied space and Fido folded his arms and glared at his younger brother, "Bino, I've always stood by you, been loyal to you and have been supportive of you but what you said to Tiger? I simply cannot forgive that."

"What are you talking about?" Bino blinked in utter confusion, "He's a freak of nature, he has the name of a cat and all he does is eat disgusting amounts of food."

"Put yourself in someone else's shoes for once. After a lifetime of teasing and bullying, Tiger just lost his closest friend and you have the nerve to mock him for crying about it." Fido folded his arms, "I always knew you had problems, Bino but today you've truly reached a new low. From here on out, you're no longer my brother. I'm disowning you. I honestly can't believe that I'm related to a snake in the grass like you. The fact that we're of the same blood makes me feel all kinds of shame. I want you to sit down and think about your life and all the pets you've hurt and insulted. Hopefully, one day you'll grow a heart."

Every word Fido said cut into him like a venom-soaked dagger. Bino hung his head with a whimper, tears slowly collecting under his eyelids, "Y...you're disowning me?"

"Don't make me repeat myself twice." Fido said sternly as he slowly walked away from Bino.

Angrily, Bino wiped the tears from his eyes as he shouted back at Fido, "Well then, GOOD RIDDANCE! I don't need a brother like YOU! I don't need ANYONE! I'm going back to the Good Old Dogs' club by MYSELF so don't come crying to ME when you get SHOT in the line of duty, ya flea-bitten PIG!" And with that, Bino marched away in the opposite direction of the funeral.

"Oh snap, you just dumped your brother like a sack of garbage!" Spo blurted out. All Fido could do was shake his head and roll his eyes at the little mouse on his head.

Meanwhile, Tiger was curled up in a fetal position, shivering and hyperventilating with anger as Peanut, Grape and Zach all tried to desperately calm him down. They crowded around him and started petting him in an attempt to soothe him. After a good couple of minutes, Tiger's breathing slowed down and he returned to normal. The fur of both his cheeks and snout alike was wet from crying and he appeared to be trembling as he hugged Poom close to himself. Zach gently stroked the tuft of fur atop his head as Tiger whimpered softly, "M...maybe Bino's right. I...I guess I am a freak."

"No you aren't." Zach replied, "Sure, you can get more than a little mad at times and you can have your issues but we've all got problems. According to Jess, I cry too easily."

"I can be a little clueless at times." Peanut admitted, rubbing Tiger's back.

"I can get carried away by my emotions." Grape said, patting Tiger on the shoulder.

"So you're not alone, Tiger." Zach comforted his canine brother, "We all have our problems."

Slowly, Tiger got to his feet and stood up, "Just...leave me alone, all of you. I...I don't hate any of you its...it's just...I need some time alone so I can mourn. Marvin was the only one who ever actually listened to me and took me seriously. To everyone else, I just feel like a big joke. I'm not sticking around for the burial." Tiger looked away from the group so no one would notice the single tear rolling down his cheek, "I don't think my heart can take it, especially after what Bino just said to me."

And with that, Tiger slowly walked away from the group with his head hung in sadness. Grape was now seething with anger, "When I get my paws on Bino, he'll WISH that Tiger was the one who took care of him."

"Easy there, Grape." Peanut comforted his sister, "Remember. Bino wasn't actually responsible for Marvin's death. The last thing we need is another funeral."

"You're right, Peanut." Grape sighed, "Besides, it would be bad if the ferrets wasted money to plan a funeral for that green-eyed scumbag."

Tiger walked in the direction of the setting sun, Marvin's purple scarf swaying in the wind as a gentle breeze struck his frame. He stared down at Poom, his vision slowly misting up with tears, "Well Poom, I guess its just you and me now. Just the two of us against the world."

The teddy bear stared back in silence as a tear slipped out of Tiger's right eye, "What's that? Peanut, Joey, Grape, Maxwell and even Zach are friends with us, too?"

"..."

"But I'm scared, Poom. What if they reject us just like all those other dogs who rejected me? I'm no stranger to loneliness."

"..."

"I guess you're right. But...there's a part of me who thinks they'll turn on us."

"..."

"Okay, Poom. If you say so. Maybe they won't hurt me for once. I love you, too." With a watery sniffle, Tiger cuddled his stuffed bear close to him as he watched the sun set alone on top of the hill. Maybe Poom was right. Maybe Tiger had more friends than he realized.

 **NOTE:** _Next chapter, Marvin meets Cerberus in heaven._


	3. Flashing Back

**NOTE:** The flashback part is in _italiac._

Marvin's purple eyes snapped open to the sight of a blinding bright light. He had no idea where he was or how he got there but he could feel a tingling warmth in the atmospohere around him. He scanned the area of his surroundings and soon came to the conclusion that he was sitting in a crowded plaza or sorts that was jam packed with all sorts of multicolored animals and a few humans here and there, "Am I dreaming? What's going on here?"

The orange cat wandered around the plaza in complete and utter confusion. He turned to see a blue and orange colored fox wearing a fanny pack walking around, "Excuse me, sir but can you tell me where I am?"

"You're in heaven, silly." the fox giggled before walking away while whistling a cheerful tune.

Marvin just folded his arms in annoyance, "What a smart aleck. I'm gonna go look for the information booth."

Marvin walked around, searching for the info booth when he spotted a sign that said "Welcome To Heaven." All he could do was sigh to himself, "Just where in the world am I? Is this some bizarre Christian amusement park in California or somewhere?" Shrugging, he walked through the entrance and found himself at an office.

"Marvin Arbelt." A female voice called out, "Welcome to Heaven."

Staring in the direction of the voice, Marvin saw a giant three-headed dog sitting behind a desk. Marvin blinked a few times in amazement at the sight before him and the only thing preventing him from passing out of shock was the magical warmth in the air of the place. Clearing his throat, the orange cat spoke up, "All right, I have two very important questions I need to get off my chest. One, who are you? And two, am I really dead or am I have a really weird dream about being in a Christian themed amusement park?"

Cerberus smiled down his him and petted him on the head as the middle head spoke up, "We are collectively known as Cerberus. We're the supervisor in charge of ferrying the dead."

"So, you're a denizen of heaven?" Marvin scratched his head in confusion, "I always figured that Cerberus lived in Hades, considering what I've read."

"You really shouldn't believe everything you read." The left head spoke, "Mortals often muddle the truth behind the supernatural."

"So, am I dead or-"

"You're certainly not dreaming about being in a Christian themed amusement park, Marvin." The right head replied, "You've passed on and now you're actually in heaven."

Marvin's jaw nearly dropped to the floor at the response he got, "But...but I was going home from a Pridelands party. Did something happen to me? Everything's all a blur."

"You have no recollection of your death?" The middle head asked.

"I probably received some sort of head trauma." Marvin theorized, rubbing his chin, "I think I'd like to see an instant replay of what just happened because at this point, I'm still convinced that I'm dreaming."

"To do that, you'll have to enter the Room Of Recall." Cerberus warned, "It's actually one of the few dangerous places in heaven."

"How so?" Marvin raised an eyebrow, "I've lived with Tiger all my life in the same house. Between him and his fueds with the neighborhood dogs, I've been in danger several times. In fact, it's pretty much a miracle I even lived this long. Whatever this room has to throw at me, I can take it."

"You're truly a brave one, aren't you?" The left head asked, petting Marvin on the head, "Come, we'll show you the way."

Marvin followed Cerberus into a chamber with a large, crystal clear pool in the middle. The orange cat cracked his knuckles, "Well, here goes nothing."

"Marvin, wait-"

Plugging his nose, Marvin waded into the pool and plunged himself under the water. Instantly, he was greeted to the sight of a pair of headlights coming straight at him and he could feel every bone in his body shattering like glass. He then could hear a druken voice slurring the words ""Put the dang thing out of its misery." before a heavy object or some sort slammed against his head.

Instantly, Marvin sprung up from the pool, coughing and gasping for air. Cerberus took him into her arms and cradled him, "I was warning you to do it slowly."

"Well...*cough*...at least I got my answers...*cough*...hit by a car, huh? Most common cause for unnatural death in pets next to choking on chicken bones." Marvin replied, catching his breath.

Suddenly, what chicken magically appeared in the room and raised its wing, glaring directly at Marvin.

Marvin sighed and hung his head, "I'm just stating the facts here." And with that, the chicken backed off. Marvin then looked up at Cerberus, "If you don't mind, there's another memory I'd like to re-live. A much happier one at that."

"If you insist." Cerberus replied, gently placing Marvin into the pool. Closing his eyes, Marvin took a deep breath and as soon as he was submerged in the water, he found himself sitting in a movie theater and was holding a bag of popcorn in his paw. Cerberus sat next to him and the two of them stared at the wide screen.

 _A countdown played on the screen and Marvin was greeted to a image of a kitten version of himself sitting next to a puppy version of Tiger. Tiger was curled up in a ball and sitting in the corner of the bedroom, crying softly and covered in cuts and bruises. He appeared much more emaciated and skeletal compared to his present day weight._

 _"Hi, my name's Marvin. What's yours?" The kitten cheerfully greeted the puppy._

 _"T-Tiguh..." The little puppy stuttered, big tears rolling down his sad little face._

 _"What's the matter?" Marvin asked, scooting closer to Tiger who shrunk back in fear._

 _"The...the otha dogs at duh pound huwt me because dey hate my name." Tiger sniffed, cowering in the corner._

 _Marvin frowned, "Bullies hurt you?"_

 _"Uh huh." Tiger nodded slowly, "Dey hit me on duh wall and gave me ouchies. Dey also took my food away..."_

 _"Awww..." Marvin reached forward to try to wipe Tiger's tears away but the puppy shrunk back even further, gazing at Marvin with a look of complete horror._

 _"Please don't huwt me..." Tiger whispered, tears dripping off his face onto the bedsheets._

 _Slowly, Marvin wrapped his arms around the traumatized little puppy and pulled him into a hug. Instantly, Tiger started to panic and squirm, "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! Let me go, oh I bite youw eaw!"_

 _Instantly, Marvin let go and Tiger buried his face in his paws and sobbed little puppy sobs. The kitten then spoke up, "It's okay, Tiger. I was only trying to hug you."_

 _Tiger slowly removed his paws from his eyes, "Hug? ...What's a hug? Does hug...huwt?"_

 _Marvin frowned at the realization. Poor Tiger had never been hugged once in his life. The kitten opened his arms, "Come a little closer." The puppy hesitantly moved closer, "Just a little closer. Come on, I won't hurt you."_

 _Cautiously, Tiger moved up close to Marvin and looked at him with soft eyes, "I'm so scawed, Mawvin..." He sniffled softly._

 _"I know you are but you have to trust me." Marvin replied, "Now rest your head on my shoulder and put your arms around me."_

 _Tiger did as he said, "Wike dis?"_

 _"Perfect." Marvin replied, "Now I'll do the same." The kitten wrapped his arms around the puppy and rested his head on his shoulder, cuddling him gently._

 _"Mmmmmm." Tiger smiled softly in the warm, furry embrace, "So awe we fwiends, Mawvin? Because I have no fwiends and nobody wuves me..." His smile fell into a frown and tears spilled from his yellow-orange puppydog eyes again, "S-sowwy I cwy so much..."_

 _Wiping Tiger's tears away, Marvin just smiled at him, "Of course we're friends, Tiger. We're brothers and I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world."_

 _"Thank you, Mawvin." Tiger sobbed with joy, his tail slowly wagging, "I wuv you, too..."_

As the movie ended, Marvin could feel tears streaming down his face, "I...I remember that time. Tiger was so small and malnourished when I first met him. Now he's all chubby and more than well-fed. Until Jerry introduced him to pizza, he would barely eat anything. I was worried that he'd starve if he didn't eat but when Jerry gave him that one little slice, he was hooked for life."

Chuckling a bit, Marvin wiped his tears from his face, "I've always been like a big brother to him, always looking out for him when he needed me the most."

It was then that the sound of one person applauding caught Marvin's attention. He turned to the source of the sound and saw a human woman with long brunette hair sitting a few rows in back of them. The cat's jaw dropped, "M-mom?!"

Immediately, Marvin got out of his seat and ran up to his mother, jumping over rows of seats to get to her. With tears collecting in his purple eyes, Marvin threw his arms around his deceased mother in a warm hug, "I missed you so much, mom. There's so many things I have to tell you."

"I know." Marvin's mother replied, "You'll have to tell me more about this Tiger dog because I've never met him before. He looks so cute!"

"Well..." Marvin chuckled a bit, "I guess he's kinda cute in his own demented sort of way. Poor Jerry, though. First he loses you and now he loses me, too. At least he has Tiger and Zach for company."

"Who is Zach?" Marvin's mom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, he's a rabbit." Marvin explained, "He's a nice guy but can be a little jumpy and sarcastic sometimes. For some reason, a bunch of forest animals keep calling him "The Opener Of Ways". It's like he's some sort of religious icon or something."

"Please, tell me more about Tiger and Zach, they sound like a couple of very interesting characters."

And so for the next 3 hours, Marvin and his human mother talked about everything she missed out on since Jerry moved to Babylon Gardens. He told her about everything ranging from the great water balloon war to Tiger's Archibald The Dog incident. The two of them chatted and laughed with each other for what seemed like forever before Marvin's mother let out a content sigh, "Tiger and Zach seem like such funny and colorful brothers. I'm glad you made friends with both of them. I really wish I got to meet them myself because they sound so interesting. But now that you're dead, how do you think they're coping?"

"Zach is much tougher than he looks." Marvin replied, "He may be shy and jittery but he's got plenty of feral friends to lean on when things get rough for him. Tiger's a completely different story. He barely socializes with anyone besides me and most of the other pets are scared of him. On the outside, he acts like a grumpy, obnoxious and insensitive jerk but emotionally and psychologically, he's one of the most lonely and fragile pets I know. If Zach is crying a small lake, Tiger might as well be crying an ocean." Marvin explained with a sigh.

Cerberus approached the two and the middle head spoke up, "You know, if you have any unfinished business, you can always take haunting classes."

"Haunting classes?" Marvin blinked, "In that case, sign me up. Tiger IS my unfinished business and he WILL be it until its his time to come here as well."

Marvin's mother patted him on the head, "Your loyalty to that dog is truly touching. It's no wonder you wound up in heaven."

Marvin could only sigh and hang his head, "I just hope he hasn't destroyed anything since I passed away."


	4. Deadly Roleplay

It had been exactly two weeks since Marvin Arbelt was hit and killed by Sasha's father in a drunk driving accident. The summer was slowly transitioning into fall as the leaves changed colors on the trees. Zach, Peanut, Grape and Joey all took turns babysitting Tiger until he would finally be over Marvin's death. Little by little, each of them bonded with Tiger and got to learn more and more about him, his personality and his interests. Zach was happy that Tiger was finally opening up to other dogs in Babylon Gardens, even if they were fellow outcasts like Peanut and Joey. Deep down however, Zach has this nagging feeling of sheer dread looming over his heart. He knew just how dangerous Tiger could get when provoked as he recalled him beating the living stuffing out of that robotic penguin and blowing up a television station. It would soon turn out that Zach's fears would become a reality.

It was Joey's turn to babysit Tiger as he approached the Arbelt household and knocked on the door. Zach opened the door and greeted him, "Ready for your shift, Joey?"

Joey nodded, "You bet I am. So, how's he feeling?"

"The anti-psychotic medicine Jerry recently put him on has run out so we'll need to refill his prescription at the vet pharmacy. Zach explained, "Despite that, he's been pretty mellow most of the day. Last time I checked, he was snoozing in his bed with just his muzzle poking out. I really have to admit, it looked pretty cute."

"That's good to know." Joey replied, "I'll see you tonight. Hopefully, Tiger stays in his happy and content mood. By the way, where's Jerry?"

"Jerry's out shopping so it's just you and Tiger in the house." Zach replied.

Joey let out a bit of a nervous laugh, "So Tiger and I are alone? What's the worst that could happen? Anyway, see ya Zach. Have fun with your date!"

"See you around, Joey!" Zach waved goodbye to the nerdy young dog and headed off in the direction of the forest.

Joey breathed a heavy sigh and entered the Arbelt house. Upon stepping through the door, Joey could sense something was very off and different about the atmosphere inside. It almost felt as if he was being watched in the shadows by something unknown. A chill ran down his spine in the dead silence of the house. His eyes darted around the kitchen as he slowly entered. Looking at the cutting block, he took note that a particularly large butcher knife had gone missing, "This can't be good." He said to himself, slowly shaking his head.

"Tiger? Tiger? It's me, Joey. I'm here to hang out with you."

There was no response but dead silence. Frantically, Joey looked around the kitchen as his heart rate slowly began to increase. He then made his way up the stairs, unaware of the unknown presence stalking him.

"...Tiger?"

As Joey made his way down to hall and to Tiger's bedroom, he could feel hot, heavy breathing on the back of his neck. Slowly, he turned around and saw Tiger Arbelt standing before him, a butcher knife in his paw and a twisted, demented smirk on his face, "So Bino, are you ready to be skinned alive?"

"T-Tiger?" Joey spat out in fear, "It's me, Joey...I...Zach invited me in-"

"DON'T EVEN TRY TO FOOL ME, BINO! I RECOGNIZE YOUR FLOPPY EARS AND COLLAR ANYWHERE. THIS TIME, I WILL KILL YOU AND THIS TIME, YOU WON'T GET AWAY FROM ME!" Tiger screamed at Joey, his eerie serenity being replaced with pure rage and hatred.

Joey let out a whimper and flinched, falling on his butt when Tiger lunged at him with the knife, intent on stabbing him. Joey quickly rolled away right as the knife stabbed the floor, "That does it, I'm outta here!"

Joey ran for his life, running down the stairs and nearly tripping. At this point, Tiger took the knife into his teeth, got down on all fours and starting charging down the stairs after Joey while emitting a terrifying growl. The nerdy young pup was really surprised to see just how quick Tiger moved in spite of his weight problems.

Heart racing a mile a minute, Joey raced out of the door and down the street with Tiger in hot pursuit and an expression of nothing but pure murderous intent on his face. All Joey could do was run in the general direction of his house while Tiger chased him as if he was an unstoppable machine fueled by hatred. Thoughts and flashes of every single time Bino hurt and insulted him flashed through Tiger's delirious mind as Joey began praying silently in his head in case Tiger actually caught him and slaughtered him. Joey had never ran so fast in his whole life, tears of terror stinging his eyes like acid and disorienting him a little. Luckily, he was approaching his own yard even though Tiger was still hot on his heels, growling furiously with that large knife still in his teeth. Instantly, an idea flashed through Joey's mind as he thought about his cat costume in his doghouse. Perhaps if he put it on, he could trick Tiger into thinking he's Marvin and stop attacking. It was worth a shot.

With the idea fresh in his mind, Joey dashed towards his doghouse and ran inside as fast as his legs could carry him. Frantically, he grabbed his cat costume and suited up in it, rubbing some catnip on it to help mask his natural canine scent. His little heart pounding in his chest, he turned to face a confused Squeak with tears in his soft blue eyes and hushed her with his finger to his snout. Squeak watched in speechless confusion as Joey exited the doghouse and stood in front of it. Slowly, Tiger crept up to him on all fours, the knife still clenched in his teeth. Instantly, he opened his mouth and let the knife fall to the grass, "M...Marvin? Is...is that you?"

Joey thought deeply about all the roleplaying he did. Hopefully, his skills would be enough to convince Tiger not to flay him alive. Taking a deep breath, Joey began speaking in an impression of Marvin's voice, "Of course it's me, Tiger. I'm now an angel in heaven. I've come down to earth to visit you because I miss you."

Joey watched as Tiger's eyes softened like that of a sad puppy and started to fill to the brim with warm tears as he choked back a happy sob. Without warning, Tiger ran up to Joey and wrapped his arms around the nerdy little dog, pulling him into a close hug, "I'm so sorry, Marvin!"

"What for, Tiger?" Joey asked, slowly rubbing the crying dog's back.

"I...I..." Tiger paused to wipe his eyes, "I never got to say goodbye to you...I...I was asleep when you went off to the party, remember?"

"Y...yeah, I remember that party." Joey replied, "It was pretty fun. I had a really great time there until well, I got hit by that car."

Tiger nuzzled Joey aggressively, trying his best to cuddle with what he thought was Marvin's angel, "I'm just so glad you're here for me, Marvin. I don't know what I'd do without you!" As Tiger nuzzled him, Joey oddly felt the urge to start crying himself as a lump formed in his throat and tears flooded his adorable blue eyes. Maybe it was due to the fact that poor Tiger had lost his best friend that made him tear up. He wrapped his arms around the dog who was previously chasing him with a knife and returned the hug. It was a very, very awkward situation. The two of them crying together and hugging just ten minutes after one tried to kill the other. Joey could easily just chalk the incident up to a really intense roleplaying session if anyone asked.

The smaller dog breathed a sigh as the larger one appeared to have cried himself to sleep. Tiger was now curled in a fetal position, snoring soundly in Joey's yard. Exhausted from running and crying, Joey got to his feet and walked over to his doghouse to face Squeak, "Squeak, I think we need to help get Tiger back to his house and into his bed. Problem is, I'm not strong enough to carry him."

"Aw, really?" Squeak whined in protest, "Why not keep Tiger in the yard for a bit and let him step on me when he sees me? I mean, did you see those feetpaws on him? They look so big and soft and squishy! They're probably all super soft and heavy when combined with the weight of that tummy of his. I wonder what it would feel like to be stepped on by him, I bet it would feel amazing!"

"Do you even listen to yourself speak?" Joey groaned, running a paw down his face, "He just tried to hunt me down and kill me because he thought I was Bino about 20 minutes ago and now he's collapsed in my yard. Tiger's feet are the last thing that's on my mind right now."

"Hmph." Squeak scoffed, "You don't have to be such a spoilsport about it."

"Whatever, I'm gonna call Peanut and Grape for some help with moving him back to his house. There's no telling how he'd react if he suddenly wakes up in the middle of my yard." Joey replied, dialing the number of The Sandwiches.

"Can I pretty please examine the quality of his feet first?" Squeak begged, "I'll be extra careful not to wake him."

"NO!" Joey shouted in irritation.

"Okay, okay. Jeez Joey, learn to relax a bit." Squeak replied, crossing her arms.


	5. The Breakup

Tiger's yellowish orange eyes fluttered open to the blurry sight of a brown furred dog standing before him, "Are you okay, Tiger?"

"Peanut?" Tiger recognized the brown dog's voice.

Peanut nodded, "You've been out of it for a while."

"I just had the weirdest dream." Tiger said, rubbing at his eyes to clear his vision, "I saw Bino in my house and chased him around the neighborhood with a big butcher knife and then I saw Marvin's angel and he smelled kinda like catnip and we hugged and stuff." After a long pause, the chubby dog hung his head and let out a deep sigh, "Peanut, I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"Is it true that all cats go to heaven just like all dogs go to heaven?" Tiger asked, "Because that dream felt so real."

"I think so." Peanut replied, "But you should probably ask King that question. He's actually been inside of the place before so he'd know for sure."

Tiger just groaned and rolled about in his box-bed, "I'd ask him but I'm too tired to get up. Could you fetch me some ice cream?"

"I'll see what you have in the freezer." Peanut smiled, giving Tiger a quick pat on the head, "I'll be right back so don't move an inch!"

"You won't have to worry about that." Tiger groaned, turning around in his blanket.

Meanwhile, Zach, Grape and Joey were all gathered in the front yard of the Arbelt residence and were deep in a discussion about the incident that Joey just had with Tiger.

"Normally, I like roleplaying but what happened with Tiger was just far too real for my liking." Joey admitted, "When I was asked to babysit him, I wasn't expecting him to mistake me as Bino and try to brutally murder me. I know he's been through a lot of bad things and I truly feel sorry for him but I also value my own life. The last thing I want is someone flaying me alive and using my skin to cosplay as me, as flattering as it sounds in its own twisted way."

"You're right, Joey." Zach sighed, "I'm sorry I asked you to watch him. I really should've listened to my gut that time."

Grape rubbed her chin in thought, "Well, what we need is someone whose both physically strong and compassionate at the same time. Someone with enough physical prowess to subdue Tiger if he goes all psycho but sweet and caring enough so Tiger isn't completely miserable."

"Rex kinda springs to mind." Joey replied, "Unfortunately, there still may be bad blood between the two of them."

"Fido is another option." Zach said, "Although there's a chance that Tiger will mistake him for Bino like he did with Joey and try to stab him if he enters a psychotic episode."

"There's also that big, black dog that Fox works with." Grape considered, "I don't know him very well but I've heard that he's a cerified therapy dog so he'd be a great choice to watch over Tiger when Jerry or Zach's away."

"That's not a bad idea, Grape." Zach replied, "I've met the guy briefly and he looked pretty buff. I'm sure he could easily overpower Tiger if he tries going on a psychotic rage spree."

"In that case, we should probably call Fox and ask him to bring this guy over. Tiger could most certainly use a therapy dog friend." Joey nodded in agreement, "I don't talk to Fox a whole lot but King gave me his number once so I could borrow his bomber jacket to cosplay as Terry Bogard that one year at the anime convention. I remember Dallas dressed up as Andy Bogard and Lester went as Joe Higashi that year and the three of us went as the Fatal Fury team from the King Of Fighters series. I'll head back to my doghouse and go search for it as I can't recall it off the top of my head."

"Yeah, you go do that." Grape said as she waved goodbye to Joey, "The sooner we find a more suitable babysitter for Tiger, the better."

Meanwhile, Peanut entered Tiger's room with a bowl full of butterscotch ice cream and set it in front of Tiger, "Here you go buddy, just as the doctor ordered."

Tiger groaned a bit, "I'm still feeling too weak to get up. Can you spoonfeed me?"

"Would you like me to make airplane noises as I do so?" Peanut asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes at Tiger's laziness.

"No, just feed it to me normally." Tiger replied, "It's humiliating enough that I'm being babysat anyway."

"Well, you did suffer a pretty traumatic loss." Peanut replied as he stuck a spoonful of ice cream into Tiger's mouth, "Besides, all this babysitting is healthy for you. I rarely get to see you or talk to you cause you're always isolating yourself at home. Not everyone is out there to get you. Sure, there are many judgemental dogs out there but there are also many nice ones who could care less about your name. I'm sure if you'd open yourself up a little then you'd become much happier."

"Maybe..." Tiger sighed, "But I've already made a lasting impression of myself when I blew up that studio. To be honest, I had no idea the place would explode. Now it seems like everyone is even more scared of me."

Peanut frowned and patted Tiger on the head as he fed him another spoonful, "That was a long time ago, Tiger. And besides, everyone has off days. Grape especially has off days when I wake her up from her naps. I mean, so what if you bashed the living daylights out of a robot penguin? On the bright side, you're certainly not one to bottle up your emotions. When you laugh, you're hysterical. When you cry, you cry rivers. When you explode, it's like a volcano going off. You're just a very emotional guy and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Ugh, it's like you're trying to glorify my faults somehow." Tiger groaned, "I like you, Peanut but you sugarcoat things way too much."

"That may be the case but the truth is, you could really use a good self-esteem boost." Peanut said as he rubbed Tiger's ears, "And that's what I'm here for. You have a pretty low opinion of yourself. Bullies like Bino plant that seed in your head and let it grow until the plant consumes you and you're tangled up in its vines with no escape so you surrender to its all-consuming viney-ness."

Tiger raised an eyebrow, "That's...a pretty weird analogy, Peanut but I guess I'll take your word for it. I just wish I could learn to smile and be happy like you."

"With time, I'm sure you will." Peanut smiled as he fed Tiger another scoop of ice cream.

Meanwhile, a certain opossum walked her way up to Zach and Grape who were talking with each other, "Hey Zach, I thought I'd stop by to see how you're doing."

"I'm doing fine." Zach replied, "I've mourned as long as I needed to so don't expect me to be shedding any more tears over Marvin in the meantime. Tiger's a completely different story."

"Since when did you start caring about that jerk of a brother?" Jess asked, raising an eyebrow, "I thought he scared you to death."

Zach slowly shook his head, "Look Jess, Tiger's been through a lot of emotional trauma in his life. Jerk or not, he's absolutely devastated by Marvin's death and I really can't say I blame him for being so upset by it. Marvin was pretty much his only friend in all of Babylon Gardens. The only good thing about Marvin's passing is that Tiger's made many new friends at the sacrifice of one old one. The other day, he decided to watch All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 by himself and he became inconsolable at the thought that Marvin might be in hades instead of heaven simply because he's a cat. He was crying about it for nearly two hours straight and it was around the time his meds ran out."

Jess cracked her knuckles, "Well then, I guess its time to give Archibald here a reality check."

"Wh-WHAT?!" Zach asked, "Jess, I don't think-"

"Look, Zach. Tiger is filling his mind with all sorts of delusional fantasy thoughts about the afterlife. Combining that with his psychosis, nothing good could come of it. He just needs to learn the cold, hard truth that Marvin isn't in heaven but is either rotting underground or is a pile of ashes in an urn depending on how his funeral went." Jess explained, "This will be a healthy lesson for him in the long run. You'll thank me."

"But, Jess." Zach stammered, "I don't think it's a good-"

"You'll thank me, Zach."

And with that, the opossum pushed past the rabbit and entered the Arbelt house. She began climbing up the stairs when Zach ran up to her and latched onto her ankle, "Please, Jess. Don't burst his bubble."

"And why not?" Jess growled, "He needs to stop feeding himself false hope that Marvin is still alive in spirit. When someone dies, they die. End of story. It's a bitter pill to swallow but the sooner he accepts it, the better. And if he loses his temper, I'll just punch his lights out like I always do."

"This is a really, really bad idea, Jess." Zach begged as he hugged her ankle, his heart beginning to race.

"Nothing you say will stop me from what I need to do, Zach." Jess replied, "So stop whining and let me do my job here."

The opossum made her way down the hall and pounded on Tiger's door, "Hey Archibald, stop living in a fantasy world!"

Tiger and Peanut's ears perked up to the sound of Jess pounding on the door. At the sound of Jess' voice, Tiger's eyes narrowed and he emitted a deep, threatening growl. Peanut rubbed Tiger's back in response, "Don't listen to her, she's only trying to start a fight. Just close your eyes and picture a peaceful meadow full of flowers."

"Yeah, that's right!" Jess called out from the other side of the door, "Keep believing that Marvin will come to down earth as an angel and magically make you feel better. You want to know the truth of what happened to Marvin after he got hit by that car? He DIED, that's what happened! He isn't an angel in heaven, he's taking a forever nap underground but apparently, you're not smart enough to accept it!"

Tiger's growling intensified as he could feel the blood boil in his veins. Who was she to question his beliefs? Peanut continued to rub the angry dog's back in an attempt to calm him, "Pizza trees, Tiger. Groves and groves of pizza trees as far as the eye can see."

"Face the facts, Archibald. You'll never see your brother again except for in photographs so stop living in a delusional fantasy and WAKE UP!" Jess screamed in anger.

In an instant, Tiger got out of his bed and marched towards his bedroom door, swinging it open. With pure hatred in his eyes, he lunged at the opossum, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU OVERGROWN RAT!" Tiger threw a punch at Jess and she caught it in the palm of her paw. With Tiger's fist in her paw, she twisted his arm and Tiger let out a whimper of pain. Jess just smirked at the dog, "My turn."

Retracting her claws, the oposum slashed Tiger across his cheek, leaving a big, bloody gash where her claw ripped into him. Peanut could only watch in shock as Jess drew first blood. Slowly raising his paw to his face, Tiger wiped his cheek and stared at the blood on his hand. Now, it was on. Enraged, Tiger slammed his fist across Jess' muzzle as hard as he can, causing her to stumble back a bit. In response, Jess slowly gathered strength into her arm and began winding up a punch when Zach suddenly dove in front of Tiger, "BOTH OF YOU, STOP!"

But it was too late, Jess fired her punch and her fist hit Zach full-force in the eye. As soon as her fist connected, Zach fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes and his eye began swelling up. Jess gasped in horror as she realized that she had hit her own boyfriend directly in the face. Finally coming to his senses, Peanut helped restrain Tiger from attacking her further.

"Zach? Zach? I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"Get out."

"What?" Jess gasped, trying to register what her boyfriend just said.

"I said GET OUT!" Zach screamed, hot tears streaming down his face, "I specifically told you NOT to confront him but did you listen to me? NO! No one EVER listens to a THING I have to say. I'm so sick and tired of EVERYONE ignoring MY feelings!"

"But, Zach. I-" Jess replied, her own tears welling up.

"GET OUT OR I'M CALLING ANIMAL CONTROL ON YOU, JESSICA! IT'S...IT'S OVER! I'M NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND ANYMORE! IF YOU CAN'T ACCEPT MY FAMILY FOR WHO THEY ARE THEN I WANT YOU TO GET THE HOWL OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Zach screamed furiously before collapsing into a fit of sobs.

Jess stared at the tearful rabbit and enraged dog as Peanut gave her a concerned look, "It's probably best that you leave."

Crossing her arms, Jess scoffed at her crying now ex-boyfriend and left, descending the stairs and walking out the door. On her way out, Grape gave her an odd look, "I heard a lot of screaming. Is everything okay?"

"It's Zach's choice if he cares more about the feelings of his psychopath brother than me. As far as I'm concerned, we're over and done with." Jess replied, "Don't worry about me, this isn't my first breakup."

Meanwhile back in the house, Zach slowly stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes, "Are you okay, Tiger?"

"I never want to see that vermin as long as I live." Tiger snarled, his heart still pumping with adrenaline.

"I'll go get the ice pack and rubbing alcohol." Peanut offered, "That was pretty intense."

Tiger turned to face Zach and he sighed and hung his head, "Is...is what Jess said...is it true, Zach? Will we never see Marvin again?"

The rabbit walked up to Tiger and pulled him into a warm hug, "Of course not, we'll see him one day."

"I just hope we can see him sooner than later." Tiger frowned, "Cause I still don't have closure."

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Peanut opened it to be greeted by a big, black, muscular dog, "Did someone call for my services?"


	6. Therapy Time

The big, black dog smiled at Peanut and shook his paw, "Hi there, my name's Mungo. You sure look familiar."

"I'm Peanut." The brown dog replied, shaking Mungo's paw back, "Your patient is waiting upstairs."

"So I heard about the cat that died. Melvin, was it?" Mungo asked.

"Marvin." Peanut corrected him, "His name was Marvin Arbelt, the brother of Tiger and Zachary Arbelt."

"And where would their owner be?" Mungo asked, looking around the place.

"He's over visiting Marvin's grave. Zach's been there a few times but Tiger refuses to go, he's afraid he'll get too emotional and have a huge meltdown." Peanut explained, "Tiger's as fragile as he is irritable but I can't really blame him for acting the way he does after the way he's been treated by other dogs."

Mungo nodded in agreement, "The fact that he's a dog with a cat's name sets him up for all kinds of bullying in pet society. If he was close to this particular cat, he must be absolutely devastated."

"They were best friends." Peanut sighed, "My friends and I are doing our best to help him overcome his death but all he does is cry himself to exhaustion, talk to his teddy bear about Marvin constantly and has violent episodes where he breaks things. I think he might even have PTSD."

"Have you tried hugging him yet?" Mungo asked.

"The most I usually do is just pet him and rub his back." Peanut replied, "I rarely ever hug him because I'm not sure if he'll snap at me or not. I mean, he's still warming up to most of us. Back when he was friends with Marvin, he was mostly a grumpy loner."

"Show me to his room." Mungo replied with a nod of understanding, "Maybe I can help get through to him."

Peanut nodded and led the hulking therapy dog up the stairs and down the hallway to Tiger's room. As they were walking through the hallway, they saw Zach coming in the opposite direction with an icepack over his eye, "Don't ask."

"Do you need therapy, too?" Mungo asked Zach.

"Nah, I'm fine." Zach replied, "Just had a nasty breakup with my girlfriend but I'll be fine. It's Tiger who you should worry about."

"If you say so." Mungo replied before turning and opening the door to Tiger's room. Inside, Tiger was sitting in a corner and appeared to be curled up in a ball and rocking back and forth, "Tiger?"

"Just leave me alone." Tiger sniffed, "I'm nothing but a big joke and I'll never see Marvin ever again."

"I'm sorry but I'm not here to leave you alone." Mungo replied, "Is it okay if I call you T-Bone? I've worked with a dog named Mittens once and she preferred being called Macey. She went through the same stuff you went through, I bet."

"You don't know anything about me, so why are you even pretending to know me?" Tiger grumbled, folding his arms in annoyance.

Mungo walked over to Tiger and took a seat next to him, "Does the name Archibald The Dog ring any bells?"

Tiger blushed and buried his face in his paws, "I'd...rather pretend that never even happened and that it was all just a crazy dream. Besides, I still can't believe Jerry was so eager to get me out of the house."

Mungo sighed and placed a paw on Tiger's head, "I know you want to distance yourself from the incident because you feel embarrassed by it but the truth of the matter is that it happened. Tell me, what did you feel when you destroyed that penguin with that baseball bat?"

"Anger, rage, hatred, confusion, sadness, depression." Tiger grumbled, "I dunno, what are you getting at?"

"The headlines listed you as a "Very Bad Dog" and the show was cancelled after the pilot." Mungo stated, "But I don't think you're a bad dog at all, T-Bone."

"Really?" Tiger blinked in confusion, "So what am I then?"

"You're a very damaged dog. You've been hurt so many times before that you started hurting others. I've met many other dogs who are just like you. You act like you don't care and you've very upset with the world for having wronged you but when you're alone in your bedroom, you cry into your pillow and wish that all the pain would go away, that for once in your life, someone would understand you." Mungo explained, petting Tiger on the head, "So tell me T-Bone. What is your first memory of someone hurting you? If remembering the incident is too traumatic for you, you can always pet me to calm yourself."

Tiger took a long pause and breathed a deep sigh, "Okay. You really want to know what happened to me at the pound? Fine, I'll tell you. I was just a little puppy when it happened but I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was alone in my cell when they introduced two new dogs, Rover and Spike. Rover was a big, bulky Rottweiler type of dog and Spike was a tall, skinny greyhound type. As soon as I introduced myself to them, they started making fun of me and laughing at me. It was only the second day that I knew them but they started playing this game called Crush The Kitty."

At this point, Tiger paused and began stroking Mungo on the head as tears began forming on the edges of his eyelids. He took and deep breath and closed his eyes, trying his hardest to not choke back a sob, "In the game, they would take turns throwing me against the wall as hard as they could. The first one to hear my bones fracture won the game. They did it about 3 or 4 times before Jerry finally adopted me from that nightmare."

A single tear rolled down Tiger's muzzle and perched on his nose as he recalled the awful memory, "I'm sorry...it's just...they hated me so much all cause of my name. My injuries were so severe, I was almost put down the second time they did it to me."

Frowning, Mungo leaned in close and licked the tear off Tiger's nose. Tiger cringed a little at the gesture, "Eww, did you just lick my tears?"

"Sorry, T-Bone." Mungo chuckled sheepishly, "Therapy dog habit."

"That's okay." Tiger sighed, "Being licked is better than being slammed against a wall repeatedly."

Mungo sighed and placed his paw on Tiger's shoulder, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that but you know what? You have many friends who care about you now. Joey and Fox cared enough about you to call me and Peanut told me how much he bonded with you. Coming out of your shell is a GOOD thing, Tiger. You distance yourself from others because you were bullied in the past, you're only trying to keep yourself guarded so no one ever hurts you again. You may act like an ice king but deep down, you just want to be loved like everyone else. Am I right?"

"Y-yeah." Tiger sniffled, rubbing his eyes against the salty sting of hot tears, "I...I think so."

"So do yourself a favor and let down that guard. You don't have to be scared anymore, you don't have to be angry anymore, you don't have to be sad anymore. Just smile and be yourself, no one's stopping you from being happy so make your own happiness!" Mungo said, draping his arm around the smaller dog, "Now give me a smile."

Tiger just looked up at Mungo and gave him the creepiest, most unsettling slasher grin of all time, "How's this?"

"Ummmmmm...it's good, T-Bone." Mungo replied uncomfortably, scratching his head, "Really um, brings out your charm."

"Thank you so much, Mungo!" Tiger said cheerfully, pulling the larger dog into a hug and nuzzling him, "Maybe all I need to do is think happy thoughts just like Peanut said."

"By the way, that looks like a pretty nasty scratch on your cheek." Mungo pointed out as Tiger let go of the hug, "Would you like me to get some rubbing alcohol for you?"

Tiger groaned a little, "Peanut must've forgotten to get it when he left to answer the door."

"You're going to need to get that wound disinfected, T-Bone. It looks like you got it from a wild animal." Mungo pointed out, "I'm going to get some rubbing alcohol and bandages. It may sting a little but its for your own good."

The therapy dog turned and began to walk out the door of Tiger's bedroom when Tiger spoke up, "Mungo?"

"What is it?"

"Thank you for listening to me and my story." Tiger said, wagging his tail slowly, "I'm glad someone's taking me seriously for once."

"You're very welcome, T-Bone." Mungo replied as he exited the room.

Meanwhile, Sasha was sitting in the phone call area of the prison with her father on the line, "So Daddy, how long are you in here for?"

"Well, the judge said I'm only in here for a DUI charge. The animal cruelty charges were dropped when I explained that I was putting that dumb orange cat out of his misery. That crazy tube-rat Keene Milton is campaigning to at best put me away for life imprisonment and at worst give me the needle. Can you believe how warped that guy is? Getting so worked up over a dumb animal that he thinks I should be put on death row?" Sasha's father ranted on the other end of the line.

"Well, Cheetah was crying pretty hard when Marcus died." Sasha said, "I can see why they want you in prison longer. Making people cry is mean."

"Whose side are you on, anyway? I can't believe I own a dog as dumb as you. You can't even do tricks right. I shoulda left you at the pound where you belong." Her owner replied on the other end.

Tears began forming in Sasha's eyes as she choked out a sob, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I don't mean to be dumb."

"Well, you ARE dumb, Sasha." Her father replied, "Did you get me any ladies while I was away?"

"No..." Sasha whimpered softly, struggling not to cry.

"Then maybe when I get out of here, I'll make that animal cruelty charge stick!" Her father threatened on the other end of the line before slamming the phone down.

And with that, Sasha burst into tears and Daisy wrapped her arms around her in a comforting hug, "It'll be okay, Sasha. I won't let him hurt you. You're safe with me." All Sasha could do was let herself cry on Daisy's shoulder as the black labrador rubbed her back to help calm her.

Meanwhile, Mungo was fixing up Tiger's scratch wound and disinfecting it when Peanut entered the room, "Hey guys, I just came up with a brilliant idea!"

"What is it?" Mungo and Tiger asked in unison.

"We go to Sabrina and she can help contact Marvin's spirit with her ouija board." Peanut replied, "That way, you can say goodbye to Marvin and get closure for sure."

"Really?" Tiger blinked, "You think that's a good idea? but didn't Jess just say-"

"Ah, don't listen to that opossum." Peanut laughed, "She's just full of baloney. Sabrina's well-versed in the supernatural and I'm pretty sure she's friends with Marvin as well."

Grape suddenly appeared behind Peanut, "I'm perfectly okay with this idea, as long as we don't summon a demon who goes on a rampage in Babylon Gardens."

"A seance, huh?" Mungo rubbed his chin in thought, "It could be interesting. All right, I'm gonna tag along, too."

Zach hung his head and sighed, "Part of me wants to join you but another part of me is absolutely terrified about this idea."

Peanut placed his paw on the rabbit's shoulder, "Come on, Zach. This may be your best chance at talking to Marvin again. Besides, think about Tiger's feelings."

Zach looked over at Tiger who was making big, adorable puppydog eyes, "Pretty please?"

The rabbit breathed a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Oh, all right. Even though ghosts scare the living carp out of me, I just can't argue with a face like that."

Immediately, Tiger got up and ran up to Zach, throwing his arms around him in a big hug and picking him up, squeezing him tightly as he did so, "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" And with that, Tiger planted a big, sloppy kiss on Zach's lips and the rabbit wiped his face in disgust. Peanut, Grape and Mungo all struggled to hold back laughter at Tiger's spontaneous display of affection towards his brother. Things were looking up for Tiger, not only had he made a new friend in Mungo but now he had the chance to finally say goodbye to Marvin. With his tail wagging as hard as it possibly could and tears of joy glistening in his eyes, Tiger cuddled and nuzzled Zach out of sheer elation. Next stop, Sabrina D'Angelo's house.


	7. Closure

Peanut stood in front of the D-Angelo residence and rapped on the front door as Tiger, Zach, Mungo, Joey and Grape stood behind him. A black cat opened the door and smiled at them, "Well hello there, I wasn't expecting company."

"Sorry we arrived unannounced." Peanut replied, "It's sort of an emergency."

"Emergency?" Sabrina blinked, "How so?"

"Well-" Peanut began but was quickly interrupted by Tiger, "I really really really REALLY need to say goodbye to Marvin so could you please please PLEASE perform a seance so we can contact his spirit?"

Sabrina sighed and rubbed her paw on her forehead in irritation, "Look, Fido and I were going to go out to the movies tonight. I'm sure contacting Marvin could wait."

Instantly, Tiger made a pouty face and big, soft puppy dog eyes at Sabrina, "Pwetty pwease with warm, soft, heart-shaped wuv and hugs cookies on top? PWETTY PWEEEEEEEASE?"

"Pwetty pwease with pocky on top?" Joey added, also making puppydog eyes.

"And pwetty pwease with marshmallows, too!" Mungo joined Tiger and Joey with making cute faces.

Grape just rolled her eyes at the three of them, "Really now?"

Sabrina groaned and hung her head in annoyance. There was no way she could compete with something like that, "Oh, fine. I'll just call Fido and explain to him that Tarot pressured me into throwing a girls only sleepover."

"Why not just tell him the truth?" Peanut asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because the truth sounds like a really lame excuse to not go out with him." Sabrina replied, folding her arms, "I don't want to hurt his feelings."

"Good point." Peanut said, rubbing his chin.

"Right this way." Sabrina said as the group followed her into her house, "All right, if you want to perform a seance to contact a specific spirit then you'll need a personal item belonging to the spirit."

"You're wearing Marvin's scarf, aren't you?" Grape pointed out at Tiger.

"Perfect!" Sabrina beamed, taking the scarf off of Tiger's neck.

Tiger only whimpered softly in response, "Please be careful with it, I don't want any candles causing it to catch fire."

"The scarf will be away from any candles." Sabrina explained, "First, I'll fold it neatly and place it on top of the ouija board so it can become charged with Marvin's essence."

"How long does the charging take?" Peanut asked.

"Oh, about five minutes." Sabrina replied.

"I can eat an entire ham in five minutes." Tiger said, "Got any ham while I wait?"

"Really, Tiger?" Zach responded, rolling his yellow-green eyes.

"Sorry, it's just that I'm really, REALLY hungry." Tiger whined, making puppydog eyes.

"Quite an appetite you have there, T-Bone." Mungo chuckled, patting Tiger on the head.

"Oh, you have no idea." Zach replied, folding his arms.

With a sigh, Sabrina walked out into her kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a ham and handing it to Tiger, "I'm only doing this because you lost your best friend in the whole world, okay? Under normal circumstances, I don't let my guests eat an obscene amount of food."

As Tiger greedily accepted the ham, Peanut walked over to the couch where Tarot was sitting in a lotus position, "Hi Tarot, you've been awfully quiet. Is something up?"

Sabrina placed a paw on Peanut's shoulder, "She's pretty deep in a meditative state, it's probably best that you don't disturb her."

"Oh, okay." Peanut nodded, backing away from Tarot.

Joey and Zach watched on in shock as Tiger took large bites out of the ham and made loud chewing noises as he did so. It would seem that Tiger's extremely loud and atrocious table manners were the only thing that cut through the awkward silence of the D'Angelo house. Finishing off the ham, Tiger let out a loud belch before smiling and wagging his tail, "Now THAT is what I call a ham."

Joey turned his attention to Tarot who was still deep in her meditating state, "How on earth did that not phase her? She must be really out of it."

"Beats me." Grape shrugged in response.

"So is the board all charged and ready to go yet?" Tiger asked, "After all, I just ate the entire ham just like you said."

"When the object of possession starts glowing white then it would be time to contact him." Sabrina replied, "So as soon as Marvin's energy from the scarf can transfer completely to the board, we should be able to contact Marvin without having to worry about any demonic third party interference."

As Sabrina was explaining how the ouija board was working, Tiger decided to wander off into the kitchen in search of more food. Noticing this, Peanut tapped the black cat on her shoulder, "Um Sabrina, it seems like Tiger here is hungrier than we realized."

Sabrina turned around and noticed that Tiger had his paw stuck into a bag full of snickerdoodle cookies and a couple of them were halfway into his mouth, "Tiger!"

"Sorry, I eat when I'm depressed." Tiger said, his speech muffled from the cookies stuffed in his mouth. Sabrina could only facepalm in response when a sudden white glow emitted from Marvin's scarf.

"Um, Marvin's scarf is glowing." Grape pointed out, "Now would be a pretty good time to contact him."

Sabrina spun around and took note of the soothing white glow, "Right, I'll get to work right away. Everyone, form a circle around the board and hold hands." Everyone did as Sabrina instructed, sat down and surrounded the ouija board as they held paws together except for Tiger who was still digging into the bag of cookies, "That includes you, Tiger."

"Oh, all right." Tiger sulked, setting down the bag of snickerdoodles, "I suppose I can stuff my face later."

"All right then." Sabrina nodded as Tiger joined the circle, "Let's get down to business."

"To defeat the huuuuuuns." Joey abruptly burst out singing. There was a dead silence around the room as everyone glared at Joey. The nerdy little dog just blushed at the realization of what he just said, "S...sorry. Couldn't resist. Um...uh...ok, let's carry on and pretend that never happened."

"All right. Everyone, repeat after me: Oh Marvin Arbelt, we call upon thee to grace us with your presence. We miss you so and wish to bid farewell to you." Sabrina instructed.

"Oh Marvin Arbelt, we call upon thee to grace us with your presence. We miss you so and wish to bid farewell to you." Everyone spoke in unison. Suddenly, there was a flash of blinding light and the board began going crazy before it levitated straight in the air and slammed into the wall behind Sabrina. As if by magic, a glowing white portal appeared on the wall where the board has shattered. Mungo gasped with shock and pointed behind the black cat, "Look at that."

"Is...is that a portal?" Joey blinked rapidly in shock.

Tiger turned his head and faced the portal on the wall but then glared at Sabrina, "Okay, what kind of illegal substances did you put in these cookies? Because now I'm starting to see a large, white portal on your wall over there."

Sabrina rubbed her chin in bewilderment, "This is strange, something like this has never happened before when I tried to use the board."

"Perhaps it could be Marvin inviting us to visit him in heaven." Peanut said, his adorable blue eyes twinkling with joy, "Let's find out where it leads!"

And with that, Peanut got up and ran right through the portal before peeking his head out, "Yep, sure looks like heaven to me, you guys!"

Sabrina then looked above the portal and saw what appeared to be a timer, "15 minutes. I'm guessing that's the time limit before the portal closes. Good, that gives us enough time to say goodbye to Marvin."

"15 minutes?" Grape spat in annoyance, "Is that it? I'd love to take a full tour of the place. Maybe there's a spot where I can fulfill my Pridelands roleplaying fantasy without Tarot's holodeck stuff."

"Roleplaying fantasy? Holodeck?" Joey gasped in excitement, "Please, tell me more!"

"I hate to break up your little conversation but remember that we're here so Tiger can say goodbye to Marvin." Zach replied, folding his arms, "We can't waste any more time so for his sake, let's get a move on!"

"Yeah!" Tiger chimed in, "Enough of the chit chat. Let's move it or lose it!"

"Can't argue with that logic." Mungo smiled, "All right, let's all go!"

And with that, the group of pets stepped through the portal and found themselves standing on a fluffy while cloud. Before them stood a long, golden staircase guarded by a giant yet adorable three-headed dog, "Welcome to heaven, I am Cerberus. So I take it you've summoned Marvin Arbelt, hmmm?"

Sabrina nodded, "It was Peanut's idea yet I was the one who executed the ceremony, yes."

"You're doing your friend a good deed by allowing him to say goodbye to his loved one but keep in mind that portals to heaven created by ouija boards can only last about 15 minutes before you're trapped here forever. Because of that rule, I won't allow you inside of heaven itself but you can say goodbye to Marvin here at the entrance." Cerberus explained.

Right after the three-headed dog spoke, Marvin stepped out from behind her. Tiger gasped with pure and utter delight at the sight of his own brother. Immediately, he dashed straight towards Marvin as fast as his legs could carry him and tackled the cat in a massive, bone-crushing hug. Tiger was so overcome with emotion that he couldn't let out a single syllable let alone a full sentence and all he could do was happily sob in his brother's arms. "I missed you too, Tiger." Marvin replied, hugging the dog back.

Just then, a brunette woman stepped out from behind Marvin and reached down, petting the tuft of fur atop Tiger's head, "You must be Tiger."

Gaining control of his emotions, Tiger blinked up at the mysterious human, "Who are you? I think I've seen you in that picture on Jerry's nightstand."

"My name is Mary. I'm Marvin's mother and Jerry's girlfriend. I lived with Jerry and Marvin for a while until I passed on from cancer." The woman replied as she continued petting Tiger and scratching him behind his ears, "Marvin told me all about you, you look even more adorable in person."

A blush spread across Tiger's muzzle at the remark, "I um...uh...well, I try my hardest to be as cute as I possibly can be. Jerry really doesn't seem to think so but it's nice to see someone's recognizing me for my natural charms."

Tiger shook Mary's hand and she turned to face Zach, "And you must be Zach. I have a question for you: what's this whole Opener Of Ways thing about?"

The rabbit blushed as well and buried his face in his paws, "Ugh, not this question again. Basically, all the forest animals worship me because they think I'm a prophet or something. It drives me absolutely batty. I wish I never even opened that gate in the first place. It's a long story but seeing as there's a time limit, I won't go into all the details."

Mary patted Zach on the head as well when Joey walked up to them, "So what's it like inside of there?"

"Heaven has everything." Mary replied, "Spas, salons, ice cream parlors, pizza parlors, arcades, buffets, movie theaters, sports events, concerts, you name it."

"Does it have anime, internet access, D&D tournaments and role playing as well?" Joey asked, his blue eyes wide in amazement.

"Of course it does!" Mary laughed, "And the best part is that everything is free in heaven!"

Mungo chuckled a bit, "Looks like I'd be out of a job if I went here."

"Ha!" Joey burst out, "I KNEW IT! All those 80s and 90s beliefs about D&D being Satanic were a MYTH! YES! Man, I really wish I could stay here but I wouldn't want Dallas crying his eyes out because I'd be dead. I doubt Lester would miss me that much, though. He only really seems to care about reviewing and criticizing anime."

"This Lester sounds like a pretty swell guy." Grape replied sarcastically.

"Oh, you have no idea." Joey groaned, "Once he goes on a tangent, he can go on for days about it. Dallas and I only hang out with him cause we feel sorry for him cause we're pretty much his only friends except for a few internet friends of his who are just like him. It's a miracle that Lester doesn't have his own Encyclopedia Dramatica article yet."

Sabrina then walked up towards the group and pointed at the clock, "Guys, we only have 5 more minutes before the portal closes and we're trapped here. Tiger, you need to say goodbye to Marvin."

"Oh, Marvin." Tiger sniffled, salty rivers of warm tears running down his muzzle, "I was just so lonely and miserable without you."

Reaching up, the feline angel gently wiped the joyful tears off his delusional brother's snout, "Lonely? But Tiger, you've made so many new friends."

"But...but you were the first friend I ever had." Tiger pouted as twin waterfalls of tears streamed freely down his face, "I...I don't want to say g...goodbye just yet. You're the b-b-best thing that's ever h-happened to me...n-next to p-p-p-pizza..."

Marvin wrapped his arms around Tiger and pulled him into a hug that was warmer than the feline-named dog could have ever imagined. As Tiger rested his head on Marvin's shoulder, he could feel the tears on his face magically evaporate from the cat's angelic warmth. Trying to hold back his own tears, Marvin smiled at his canine brother as he slowly rubbed his back, "I know its hard, Tiger but there comes a time in your life where you have to just let go. You've grown so much since I last saw you, more than I could have ever imagined. You have no idea just how proud I am of you, Tiger. You've stepped way, way outside of your comfort zone and I couldn't be any happier with you. You can go and live your life without me. You've got Peanut and Zach and Joey and Grape. They're all your friends now. Even though I'm not living with you anymore, I want you to know that I'll always be your brother and I'll always love you no matter how crazy and violent you can be. Don't treat me as if I'm dead, just think of it as a permanent vacation."

"Okay." Tiger replied, nuzzling the orange cat angel sadly, "If you say so, Marvin. I...I love you, too."

"I know you do, Tiger." Marvin replied, nuzzling the dog back as a glimmering tear finally slid down his cheek.

Everyone watched as Tiger said his goodbyes to Marvin. Peanut was openly crying with tears rolling down his muzzle as Grape gently hugged and consoled him. Joey was crying as well, rubbing at his eyes with his paws as Mungo comforted him while Zach just crossed his arms and smiled at the sight before them, tears silently trickling down his face and dripping off his chin to the soft, cloudy floor. Finally, Tiger let go of the hug and waved goodbye to Marvin. Peanut, Grape, Joey and Mungo all exited the portal, only leaving Sabrina, Zach and Tiger there.

Marvin smiled at Zach, "Can I count on you to be there for Tiger whenever he needs a shoulder to cry on? He's a lot more fragile than he looks."

"Yes, you can." The rabbit nodded with a smile on his face, "Farewell, Marvin. I hope you have a great time here in heaven."

"I know I will, Zach." The cat replied, giving the bunny a goodbye hug.

Sabrina put her arm around Tiger to try and comfort him, "I know it hurts to say goodbye but its time to go, Tiger." Without a word, Tiger hung his head and whimpered softly, dragging his arm across his tearful eyes. Sabrina smiled sadly at Tiger as she allowed him to lean on her, "Everything will be all right, as long as you live with your brother in your heart."

"I know..." Tiger whispered softly as Sabrina helped him out of the portal, "I'm so sad that I think I'll eat a whole buffet after all this. Food always helps heal a broken heart."

"Side effects include tummy aches." Sabrina replied sarcastically as the two exited the portal and it vanished. Unable to controls his emotions anymore, Marvin clung to Mary and started crying into her shoulder as she rocked the feline angel to sleep.


	8. Epilogue

It had been three months since the accident that claimed Marvin Arbelt's life. Both Tiger and Zach stood in front of his grave and it was the very first time Tiger ever visited his grave which was a really big step for him. Zach turned to the dog and smiled at him, "What you're doing is very brave, Tiger."

Tiger just stared down at Marvin's tombstone as he clutched Poom to his chest. The teddy bear was wearing Marvin's old collar around his neck which had been washed of bloodstains. There was a long silence between the two before Tiger spoke up, "I'm giving up Poom."

Zach's jaw dropped in complete and utter amazement, "But...but he's your most prized possession. Marvin himself gave him to you as a gift."

"I know." Tiger replied with a sigh, "But Poom needs a job and that job is to guard Marvin's grave. He and I had some great times together. He'd keep away all those nightmares I had about Rover and Spike and he'd soak up my tears whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on but now, Marvin needs him more than I do."

Zach stared down at the grave, a warm tear trailing down his nose as he watched Tiger kneel down and place Poom in front of Marvin's tombstone. With a sniff, the rabbit quickly used his yellow-green scarf to dash the tear away, "Tiger...I-I'm so proud of you. I know it must be extremely hard to let go of your past like that."

"I just gotta keep moving forward." Tiger said, standing up, "Just like Grape said the other day. Without you guys, I don't think I'd fully come to terms with Marvin's death. I remember when I started crying in that chapel as we held Marvin's funeral. I...I wasn't expecting you to hug me at all because you're always so afraid of me. I thought you hated me."

"Tiger, I...I don't hate you." Zach replied, walking up to the dog and putting his paw on Tiger's shoulder, "I'll admit that your behavior spooked me but I never hated you."

Tiger sighed and shook his head, "Things are so much different in the world when you're me. Getting yelled at is easy. Being feared is easy. Losing your temper is easy. Binge eating is easy. Making friends is hard. Opening up to others is hard. Not being a target to bullies all the time is hard. Whether you like it or not, life's broken me. Broken my heart, broken my mind, even broken my soul. Even with all this healing, I'll never be fully normal because I've been damaged so badly. They say that its easier for pets to bounce back from tragedies than humans but that's nothing but a big lie. I remember one time Marvin had to talk me out of a suicide attempt after Bino and his gang beat me to a pulp and forced me to eat cat food."

"Suicide attempt?" The bunny gasped in horror.

"I was gonna drink a cup of antifreeze." Tiger confessed as tears slowly formed in his yellow-orange eyes, "Luckily, Marvin could smell it and slapped the cup out of my paw and yelled at me. After that, I remember the both of us crying and hugging for what seemed like hours."

Blinking, Tiger felt a tear slip down the bridge of his snout before he sighed and wiped it away with his paw. Zach frowned and pulled Tiger into a side-hug, "Sorry for the way I treated you when we first met."

"That's okay." Tiger replied, "Even if I've made new friends at the cost of Marvin's life, I'll still be feared by outsiders. And even with medication, I still might have my problems. After all the pain I've been through, its natural for me to be the way I am."

"We'll be there for you every step of the way, Tiger." Zach replied, smiling at his canine brother.

"That's all I can really ask for." Tiger smiled softly, drying his eyes, "Friends..."

And with that, the dog and rabbit got up and exited the cemetery, leaving Poom to sit alone on Marvin's grave. As the two walked to get into Jerry's car, Tiger gazed up at the sky as snowflakes began slowly falling from the sky, one landing on his nose. The dog zoned out a little but Zach tapped him on the shoulder, "It's time to go, Tiger."

"I know." Tiger nodded, "I was just looking for Marvin in the sky."

Zach slowly shook his head, "You say the strangest things sometimes, Tiger."

"Yeah." Tiger agreed quietly as he forced a laugh, "I guess I do."

And so, Tiger and Zach entered Jerry's car and the car doors closed behind them. As they drove off, Tiger silently watched out the window and noticed a glowing orange cat with a halo waving at him. He smiled and waved back as the car drove off into the cold, dark winter night.

 **NOTE:** _Thank you very much for reading my fanfic. I know I wasn't able to post it on the Housepets! Forums because the themes were too mature and dark but it was really fun to write. Even I got a little bit misty-eyed in parts as I wrote it. By all means, post reviews and tell me your thoughts because I worked pretty hard on this._


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